Teats, mon cheri!

Mighty interesting discussion you've started on alcohol and alcoholics. I've written about alcoholism at the hash before, but by and large my feeling is that there are alcoholics, and then there are alcoholics.

My opinion on AA members isn't quite as strong as yours. People trying to kick powerful addictions aren't much fun to be around. Did you ever smoke? Did you ever try to quit? More power to 'em, I say, if AA and a little bit of whining gives them the support they need to stay on the wagon.

Most hashers I know are in control of their drinking. They work, they fuck, they save to send their kids to college - and they go hashing and drinking as a release. Also, the hashers I know who drink too much are generally happy drunks. The kind of drunk who likes to beat up his wife or pick fights with strangers or suddenly burst into tears and start telling his life story normally gets pushed gently out of the hash - not our kind at all.

That's not to say that a person who enjoys drinking in a social setting won't, over time, become a hard-core alcoholic. Unfortunately, that does happen. We're all playing with a loaded gun, if you look at it that way!

If you smoke, even a little, you're a smoker. I suppose it follows that if you drink, you're an alcoholic. I just happen to believe that some alcoholics handle it and some don't. Most hashers handle it well. For the few who can’t handle it, continuing to hang around with hashers is - and I hate to say this, but it's true - a very bad idea.

And that's all I have to say about that.